Love Me
by DancerA101
Summary: Cammie has the perfect boyfriend, the best friends and is happy. Until her school, Gallagher Academy, does an exchange with Blackthorne and she meets a special someone. She goes for a crazy ride, stuck in between Josh and the ever present Zach Goode.
1. Chapter 1

"This can't be happening! I've never died on such a low level!" Thomas yelled to himself down the hall. Thomas was addicted to his DS; no one could get him off of it when he started playing. Downstairs, I could the clicking of my moms' heals and the thump of my dads sneakers as they walked up the grand stair case. I could discreetly hear the creaking of the old fan in my dorm over the sound of the fireworks. I was standing out on my dorms' balcony and staring at the fireworks shooting into the sky in dazzling colors, making the black sky look like it was bedazzled. The wind picked up and the cold bit at my cheeks and my nose. It was surprising how chilly it was for August. I leaned into Josh and put my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. With mild interest, we were both staring out at the "end of summer" fireworks that Roseville always shot off on the last night of summer.

"I'm glad you're here," I admitted to him." We were at my school; Gallagher Academy for Girls. I know what your thinking; why would I be at school in the middle of summer? Well, because my moms' the headmistress and my dad is the Countries of the World teacher, that's why. I spend my summer, spring and winter breaks at the school, unless we go on vacation. I don't really mind being here except for the fact that I only often get to see my boyfriend of two years, Josh. He is a junior, like me, at Roseville High. Josh is allowed to visit on weekends and when we have school dances and prom.

"I'm glad I'm here too," he told me, his voice muffled through my hair. We stood there a little longer before Josh had to leave. Once he left I threw on my Pajamas and crawled into bed. I pulled the covers up to my chin and listened to the crickets chirping outside. For some reason, I felt nervous for the beginning of the year, and I could already tell something was going to go wrong.

***AUTHORS NOTE**: **This is the first chapter! Sorry it's so short and not the best, the next one will be longer! I promise! I'm not sure when i'll update but I'll try to make it soon! Please Read and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Cammie_

The next morning I woke up before my alarm and got up and showered. After my shower, I slipped on my uniform and walked down to the cafeteria. Pictures of Gilly Gallagher, our founder, hung on the wall, along with pictures of past headmistresses, ending with of my mom. It was a great picture of her; my mom is beautiful. She has long dirty blonde hair and gentle but piercing blue eyes. I take after my mom and Thomas takes after my dad.

When I got there Thomas was already sitting at the shortest of the long, wooden tables. My parents were sitting in front of him on the other side of the table. Today was Thomas' last day here and then he was sent to Blackthorne, a private school, like Gallagher, except for boys. Nobody, but my parents and I know about Blackthorne; it's supposed to be a secret school.

I walked over and sat down; knowing that within a couple hours, this whole cafeteria would be filled with a bunch of teenage girls.

"Good morning, Cammie," my mom said with a smile. My dad ruffled my hair and gave me a smile.

"So, we have news," my mom began slowly. My parents shared an uneasy, subtle glance and Thomas nudged me with his knee. We both new that something big was coming.

"And that is?" I prodded, curiously. My parents shared a glance again before my mother said,

"Thomas will be staying and studying with us at Gallagher until Christmas this year, along with15 other chosen students from Blackthorne." My mouth dropped open in shock. Boys? At Gallagher? There has never been a guy attending our school in the history of Gallagher! This is not okay! This was supposed to be a fun and exciting year. I was supposed to be top of my class and have a great year surrounded by my sisters' and my classmates. How was I supposed to do that with guys at the school?

"What?" I screeched, baffled, "Boys? Here?" My mom rolled her eyes at me.

"Oh come on, your overreacting, honey," my mom said, giving me a warm smile.

"I get to stay here? Is Joey going to go to Gallagher, too?" Thomas asked excitedly. My mom nodded, and I could see appreciativeness flood her eyes for Thomas' enthusiasm about this.

"Mom, come on! You're being ridiculous!" I begged. She shot me a look that told me to watch what I say.

"Cammie, I'm sorry, but they'll be here in an hour, there's nothing I can do to change this now. You and Thomas should finish your breakfast then get ready to go greet them. I will meet you both in my office in an hour." With that she got up and left, signaling my dad to follow after her. I gave my dad a pleading look.

"Sorry, kiddo," he said, ruffling my hair again before following my mom out of the big, wooden doors.

_Zach_

Fourteen other boys from Blackthorne and me, including my two best friends', Grant and Jonas, sat in the back of a van. We were driving to Gallagher, a private school just like Blackthorne but for girls. We had been driving for who knows how long and with Jonas talking for the last 30 minutes about how he once hacked into the school's website (he's extremely smart) and with Grant snoring on the other side of me, I really wanted to kill myself.

So, of course when we finally got there, I un-buckled and jumped out of the van as fast as I could and breathed in a deep, needed breath of fresh air. Grant and Jonas jumped out after me and Grant slapped me on the back. Gallagher was amazing, it was a huge mansion turned into a school. It was far more extravagant and bigger than Blackthorne. The second van carrying our luggage pulled up and we all walked inside. We were greeted by a man with big brown eyes and brown hair, slightly graying and a little boy who looked just like him, half his size. Immediately the boy ran over to Joey, one of the youngest kids in the group and they high-fived. I remembered the boys face from school; Thomas. Rumor was that his parents worked here and he had a sister who went here, but I thought it wasn't true.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Morgan, welcome to our school. Your dorms are in the West wing, Thomas' can show you where your rooms are. Once you have un-packed please meet in the library. Our students will be coming in about an hour and we don't want them seeing you here yet. Cammie, my daughter will meet you in the library and she will tell you all you need to know about our school here." He shook hands with all of us then walked up the grand staircase and disappeared out of sight. Thomas' stepped up in front of the group and got everyone's attention.

"The West wing is this way," he instructed and started to sprint up the stairs. Everyone quickly snapped into action, grabbed their suitcase that had been brought in and followed him up the stairs.

Jonas, Grant and I shared a room. Our window over-looked the court yard. We quickly unpacked our clothes and put them into drawers and our closets so that we had time to go search around for the library.

Surprisingly, we were the last ones there; everyone else was walking around or waiting on the couches. The room was huge and the room consisted of at least 4 thousand books. Three big, brown couches rested against the back wall which had two big windows on it. I was way more then excited to be living with a mansion full of girls for the next few months. I was Zach Goode; smooth and cool. I was handsome, and I knew it. All the girls loved me. I never, ever got rejected. And my number one rule is that I never, ever fall hard for someone, ever.

"Dude, I could get used to living this nice," Grant said, chuckling.

"I could get used to living with all these girls around us, probably drooling over us." We both started to laugh but we were cut of by a voice.

"Drooling? Please. Maybe vomiting, though," a slightly annoyed and hostile voice said from behind us. All of us looked in the direction of the voice and my heart stopped; that's when I saw her for the first time.


	3. Chapter 3

_Zach_

She had a great figure, long dirty blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. Even though to anyone else she would be average, to me she was the prettiest girl I had ever met. I didn't notice I was staring until she spoke again,

"Take a picture, it will last longer," she said to me, sending me a smile. Immediately, I averted my eyes but then quickly realized that I was acting stupid and not like my self. I stuck out my hand towards her and put on my famous heart-stopping smirk.

"Zach Goode," I told her smoothly. She looked at my hand then looked into my eyes and merely rolled her eyes. I couldn't believe I had just gotten rejected. Instead of panicking, I kept on my mask; my cool and calm face on and slid my hand that she had rejected into my pocket.

"And your name is?" I tried again. She looked bored, annoyed and amused at the same time.

"Cammie. I'm Cammie," she said.

"I'm Grant!" Grant offered up from behind me, raising his hand in the air like a six year old. This made her laugh and when she laughed, I know this is cliché, but I swore I heard angels singing. I wanted so badly to make her laugh like Grant did. Wait… why am I saying this? I am _Zach Goode_, I am _not _falling for her! I don't fall for anybody. Period.

"Look, I'm going to leave now. Thomas, in 5 minutes, lead everyone to the cafeteria doors, but don't go in until you hear mom announce your arrival." With that she gave a slight wave to all of us and started to walk towards the door. She started to close the door behind her when she turned around again and said,

"Oh, and Zach, I'd be careful when you try to hit on the girls here, you might get your butt kicked." She put on a big, sarcastic smile and walked out.

"Rejected!" Grant chanted as soon as the doors shut behind her. I socked him on the shoulder and he cursed at me.

"Wow, I've never seen you look that desperate before," Jonas told me, "and you totally got shot down."

"Desperate? I was most certainly not desperate," I told him, glaring. All of a sudden, Thomas showed up in front of me with a big grin on his face.

"Sorry, dude, I should have warned you about her. If you want my suggestion; don't go for her. You're not her type." He gave me a pat on the back and walked back over to his group of friends. Not her type? I'm every girls' type! I could tell she was going to be a challenge, but fine by me; challenge excepted.

_Cammie_

"Ugh, those boys are such pigs," I said as I sat down by my best friends; Macey, Liz and Bex at our spot at the sophomore table. They had just gotten here a little bit ago and of course I had told them who Blackthorne was and that Blackthorne was here and this moment. I mean, they're my best friends! They would kill me if I didn't tell them!

"I can't believe there are boys _here_ at Gallagher!" Bex squealed. How could she be happy about this?

"And you're happy about this?" I asked, clearly showing my disgust.

"You're not? Even Liz is excited!" Bex said enthusiastically. I looked at Liz quizzically.

"Well, it's a good idea to have them here so we can see how good our education here is compared to their school and others. I really would love someone who would be a good competitor against me," She told me, pushing her glasses up her nose slightly. We all looked to Macey for her opinion. She looked up from her magazine that she was flipping through and raised her eyebrows.

"Sounds like a bunch of cocky, pain in butts," She told us and looked back at her magazine. I was about to thank her for agreeing when my mom stood up to the podium and started talking.

"Girls, settle down please," she instructed. The whole room went quiet and you could have heard a pin drop. "Thank you, now welcome back to Gallagher Academy. I hope you all had a great summer! Now, I have an announcement. This year, until Christmas break, we will be letting 15 chosen students from Blackthorne Academy join us and study with us at our school." The cafeteria doors banged open and 15 boys walked in. There was a gasp from every single girl in the cafeteria except me; I let out a loud, annoyed groan.

"Seriously, it's not that surprising. They're boys; get over it!" I whispered to myself. Bex, Macey and Liz heard me, though and they started giggling.

"Cammie, loosen up," Bex told me. Macey looked up at me and made a face of disgust.

"You're posture is horrible and did you even try to do anything with the frizz in your hair?" Macey asked me, grabbing a piece of my frizzy hair.

"Well, I think her hair looks great," I heard a voice from behind me say. Immediately, my muscles tensed and turned around to see that last person I wanted to see, sliding into the seat beside me. Grant sat down to the right of Zach, and their friend I didn't know the name of, shyly sat down across the table from the, in between Liz and Tina Walters.

"Do you mind if I sit here, _Gallagher Girl?" _he asked me. Gallagher girl? How immature… why not just call me by my name?

"Yeah, I-"

"She doesn't mind at all," my mom cut me off, suddenly appearing behind me. "In fact, I was wondering if you girls would be the guide for these three boys. I'm sure they don't know they're way around and we wouldn't want them getting lost." Quickly, I turned around in my seat and gave my mom a glare.

"Actually, mom, we can't. Sorry," I said sharply. My mom just laughed and looked at the other girls.

"Oh Cammie, don't be rude to our guests. We wouldn't mind, right Liz?" Bex said, twirling her hair and eyeing Grant, who was eyeing her back. Liz shook her head in agreement.

"I don't mind," Liz said shyly, looking down at her hands. Macey looked up from her magazine, looked at the guys, sighed, and went back to her magazine. My mom told us that it was decided and that we were their guides from now on and walked away.

"Well, seems like we'll get to spend a lot of time together," Zach winked at me and when I stuck my tongue out at him, he smirked. This was going to be a long, long term.


	4. Chapter 4

**I completely forgot my disclaimer! So here it is! I own none of Ally Carter's characters or books, it all belongs to her genius self!**

As soon as the bell rang, dismissing us from dinner, I tore out of the cafeteria. Macey sent me questioning looks as I practically broke my foot trying to run out of the room in my uniform heels. I really don't see why they make us wear these death traps, but we're supposed to look like 'sophisticated young ladies.' Apparently heels give off that look, which I totally disagree. I think they give off the 'I'm-wearing-these-in-attempt-to-make-me-look-taller-and-make-my-legs-look-sexier-than-they-are' look. And I wish more than anything that we didn't have to wear these stupid skirts-which I have to admit makes my butt look awesome-that are a huge nescience when you're trying to run away from something or someone.

I knew exactly where I was going the minute I rushed out of the cafeteria. Silently, I took the grand staircase and moved through the deserted hallways. Within a couple minutes, these hallways would be filled with chatty teenagers, giggling and talking about the new arrival of the boys. Unlike me, during dinner, they all giggled and pointed and flirted with every boy that walked past them. It was quite gross actually to see how many girls came up and introduced themselves to Zach and his friends; twirling their hair on their fingers and pretending to be ditsy and flirting with no self-respect. And honestly, I don't know what they saw in him; other than his great features, his piercing green eyes, his big broad shoulders, that stupid smirk, and…_wait!_ What am I saying? Am I mentally insane? I'm pretty sure I am becoming mentally ill.

I would occasionally look back to check if I was being followed and luckily, I wasn't. When, I reached the big oak doors to the lounge, I threw them open anxiously. I looked around the room to make sure no one was there then I headed over towards the fire place at the far right of the room. On the mantle, I moved aside an old photograph of the first girls ever to be students at Gallagher. It appeared like there was nothing under it, but I knew that there was. Again, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was there. Gently, then I took my finer and slid it across the small section of the wood under the frame. The wood moved aside just as I knew it would to reveal a small lever. I took the lever and pulled it to the left then the right. A groaning protest escaped from the fireplace as a hatch under the fake wood swung open, revealing a hole. It was big enough just for a body to fit in. A normal teenage girl would be scared to jump down a dark hole, but I definitely your average teenage girl like Liz, Bex or Macey. So, I hopped down into the hole. I didn't even fall through the air for more then a second before my feet hit solid ground. The familiar smell of dust and dampness and the familiar stillness of the air surrounded me. The latch slid closed and all of a sudden it was pitch black. I walked over to the middle of the room, going all by memory of where the string dangling from the ceiling was. When I found it, I pulled on it and the light bulb clicked on. The light illuminated the small room and the ten book cases that surrounded me. It was a secret library that I discovered at the beginning of the eighth grade. I had by accidentally stumbled across it when I was trying to take a closer look at the old photo. I was running my hand across the mantle and realized that it was an uneven surface in just on place. At first, I was a little bit nervous to go in. I mean what if there was no light or no way out? But, I talked myself into it and it was then that I found my secret hide out. It's here that I come to spend my alone time when I'm frustrated or sad.

I walked over to the couch that sat towards the back of the room and picked up the old, dog-eared book lying on the couch arm. It was my most recent book that I was reading. I found it hard to lose all thought of that annoying pill, Zachary Goode, and get lost in my book. I kept thinking of that annoying smirk that he kept giving me all through lunch and his stupidly, gorgeous green eyes. Every time I would look over at him, those piercing green eyes would be staring back at me. And the stupid way that he could make everyone laugh throughout lunch; even Macey. As much as I hated to admit it, I had to keep suppressing laughs at his effortless jokes. And then, there was the way that Bex and Grant kept flirting all through of lunch. Then, there was the way that Liz and Jones would look over at the other but as soon as the other noticed they were staring, would quickly look at the ceiling or at their hands. I would be really happy for Bex or Liz if they started dating Grant or Jonas. They seem like really nice boys. I would totally approve.

The couch was cozy and the room was the perfect temperature as it always is. I was just at the climax of the thrilling back story of Starlet's elusive boyfriend when my phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I sighed and folded the bottom corner of the page down, reluctantly closing the book. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I am supposed to fold the top corner, but that's not the way I do it. My dad taught me to fold the bottom down for no other reason, but to be different than everyone else. He always said to me that if you do exactly what everyone else does, then you are no different from anyone else. If you're no different from everyone else then you're just one in the crowd and no one special. He told me to strive to be someone special. And so that's why I do these little things that no one else does, like fold the bottom corner of my book.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, a little annoyed with the interruption.

"Cam?" My heart fluttered at his voice and immediately I was no longer upset about the interruption, but happy.

"Josh!" I squealed.

He laughed. "Hey Cam."

"I miss you so much. And it's only been a day! I wish you were here with me," I gushed.

I could hear the warm smile in his voice as he talked, "Yeah I know what you mean. I miss you too."

"How was your first day of school?" I asked.

He sighed. "I don't know. It was fun, but it was still the start of another school year without you."

I sighed too. "Yeah, but how were your classes?"

"DeeDee is in quite a lot of them, which is great," he told me. I couldn't help it; I cringed. DeeDee is Josh's _best friend_, which is totally fine with me. I can't control who his best friend is; it's just sometimes a little hard. Painfully, I'll admit, sometimes I might get a tad jealous.

"That's really great," I said, faking enthusiasm. He didn't catch on to the hint of hesitation in my fake tone.

"How about your school?"

"You are never going to believe this! Boys are here for the term. Sixteen of them! They came from our brother school, Blackthorne.

Silence.

"Boys are there?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"As in teenage boys?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. There was another pause. He was acting weird about this. This was definitely not how I expected him to act. I didn't get it. He couldn't possibly be jealous? He wasn't the jealous type. But every new second of silence that ticked by seemed to prove me wrong. "Are you jealous?" I asked incredulous, laughing at the words spoken out loud.

"No," he said quickly. Too quickly. I started laughing so hard. And once I started, I couldn't stop. I could feel Josh's embarrassment and frustration leaking through the phone. Finally, I got myself calmed down.

"There is absolutely no need to be jealous," I told him. "Only three of them are my age and two of them have eyes for Liz and Bex."

"What about the third one? Is he cute?" he asked. I thought over my words before I spoke. I didn't want to lie.

"That is a really weird question coming from you."

"Why?"

"Because my boyfriend just asked me if a guy he doesn't even know is cute."

"You know what I meant," he said, not harshly.

"It doesn't matter if he's cute," I said matter-of-factly.

"How come?" he wanted to know. I could hear the mischievousness in his voice and I wanted to give him a hug.

"Because he's a jerk. And I don't date jerks."

"Oh," was his one-word answer.

"Don't worry," I assured him again. I promise you, you're the only one I love." He seemed please with this answer and so he let me change the conversation.

"I love you too." My heart melted at hearing him say this and I wished with all my heart that he was sitting right here next to me on this couch. I wished that I could lean over and rest my head on his shoulder and he would wrap his arms around me like he used to. I wished he would be there so he could pull me into his lap and enclose me in himself so that I felt safe. The wanting was so bad I almost started to cry. Which is really pathetic and shocked me, because I will tell you one thing; _I never cry. Ever._

"You don't know how much I wish you were with me."

"Just remember, we still live in the same town. I can visit on weekends and you can visit on town days." It soothed me to hear his voice and him saying these things. It was Tuesday though; I had four days till I could see him again. It felt like too long.

"Yeah. Call me at least once every day though."

"Will do."

"Love you."

"Love you too." My heart melted again at this. I hung up and got up, deciding it was time to go back to the real world. I knew Bex, Macey and Liz would be wondering where I went, too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's my next chapter! Hope you like it! Review! I need ideas! (:**

_Cammie_

"Cammie, where were you?" Bex asked me calmly. She sat on Macey's bed with her and they were flipping through _Cosmo_ magazines. I slid in through the door and shut it behind me.

"Around," I said, flopping onto my bed. Liz looked up at me from her computer screen. She was sitting at her desk, laptop in front of her, typing furiously even though all her attention was on me.

"Well way to be descriptive," Liz teased, shutting her computer and coming to sit by me on my bed. I laughed and tossed a pillow at her.

"Well, where were you guys?" I asked them. Bex and Liz were watching me, but Macey didn't bother to look up from her magazine. I could tell she was listening though.

"I," Bex said dreamily, "Was showing Grant around."

"Grant?" I asked, wagging my eyebrows. She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was pleased.

"What about you Lizzy?" I asked nudging her on the shoulder. She blushed and covered her face in the pillow she was holding.

"I was just helping Jonas learn where everything is. We spent quite a lot of time in the computer and science lab. He seems to be as interested in school as I am. We were talking about how to hack…" she carried on, but I tuned her out like I learned to. If I tried to pay attention, I knew I would just get confused. Her use of big words always makes my head ache. Macey now looked up at me from behind her magazine.

"Hey, Liz, I'm interrupting," Macey said, "before we all get migraines." Liz blinked at her from behind her glasses.

"Okay, I guess your right," Liz said, getting up and going back to her desk.

"Hey, little miss I'll-skedaddle-and-leave-you-with-the-hot-but-supremely-annoying-boy," Macey said to me. "Where _did_ you go? Because Mr. Zachary really wanted to know, too, as I was forced to give him a tour of the school, since you left."

"Oops, sorry Macey. I just needed to go chilax for a little. You know, the beginning of the school year and all, can really stress out a girl," I lied smoothly. I could care less about the beginning of school. I was great with schoolwork, so that didn't worry me at all. What I did need to do was get away from Zach.

Macey narrowed her eyes and shot me a look saying that she didn't believe me, but we'll talk later. "Well, tomorrow you're guiding him around because I am _not_ putting up with him again." I laughed.

"Okay, throw me under the bus," I teased. Macey laughed and went back to her magazine. Bex was on her belly, now asleep and Liz was still focused on her computer. All of this was familiar and comfortable and I couldn't be any happier to be where I was and who I was with.

_Zach_

"Dude, sit down. Stop pacing," Grant told me, looking up at me, annoyed.

"I can't." I was walking back and forth in our room.

"Wadda you mean you can't?" Grant asked, even more annoyed now. Grant had what could be called 'anger issues.' Except my theory was he only got mad and started fights, because he loved to fight. Any time, any day, he would take someone on. In my whole life, I have seen Grant in more fist fights then I have seen Oreos. Yeah, I know, that's random. Oreos. But whatever. It's true, and that's all that matters.

"I mean I can't, because I don't want to," I told him, sending him a look. That did it; Grant got up and walked over to me. He grabbed me by the shoulders so I would stand still. Did I mention that Grant was huge? I was '6 "3 and he was taller than me by a couple inches. But, I could beat him any day, because wits beat size.

"Stand still _before_ you drive me crazy," Grant commanded. Jonas looked up from his computer and rolled his eyes. He could tell when a fight was coming a mile away and he believed strongly in not fighting. Part of this was because he could never beat anyone in a fight.

"Guys, break it up," he called, not bothering to get up and come over. All of a sudden, I wasn't in the mood to fight anymore. So, I went and sat down as Grant had commanded. Grant, cocky and happy that he had won this one, smiled to himself and sat back down on his bed.

"What are you so upset about, anyway?" Jonas asked.

"I can't stop thinking about her. It's killing me," I told him, running my hands through my hair and resting my head in my hands. I was excited for her to give me a tour after dinner. For some reason, I liked the idea of being able to talk to her more as she showed me around. But then, as soon as the bell rang, she ran out and I got put with her friend. Don't get me wrong. Her friend wasn't ugly or anything. Definitely not ugly. She was actually gorgeous. But, she's definitely not Cammie, either. When I met Cammie, I'll admit, it was first her looks that attracted me. Her great, big, blue eyes were entrancing and her long hair fell perfectly on her shoulders. But, then it was her attitude that caught my attention even more. Most girls would have drooled over me and my friends, but she hardly seemed to notice us. Then, she carried herself with such confidence and seemed so sure of herself. Which, no other girls I have met have had. She seemed special and unique. It was her personality that attracted me towards her and made me want to talk to her and learn about her.

Jonas and Grant exchanged a look. "I think he likes her," Jonas said to Grant. Grant fake gasped and placed his hand over his chest.

"I think he likes her too," Grant replied. I know what you're thinking; big whoop if I like someone. I bet everyone reading this has liked someone before. Yeah, but I have never actually been head-over-heels for someone before. This is due to the fact that I don't believe in love. It's just a stupid myth to make people believe that the person they were with was their "match made in heaven." When really, they're not. Because no matter what, there will always be things that annoy you and things you don't like about the person your supposedly 'in love' with. Grant and Jonas don't believe in this theory, of course. No one does but me, which is really quite sad for every other mislead person on this earth.

"Stop. I most certainly do not," I said harshly.

They just laughed.

"Jonas, I think we should record this moment. It's going to be a great memory some day. This is the day that Zachary Goode fell in _love."_

"No," I said again forcefully.

"You know what Grant; I think this does need to be recorded. Let's interview him."

"No."

"Yes! Let's."

"So, Zach, how are you feeling right now?" Grant asked, standing up and walking over to me. He pretended to put a microphone up to my mouth.

"Slightly pissed."

"I think you have another feeling down in there too," Jonas supplied, joining Grant in front of me.

"Yeah, your right. I'm annoyed too," I told him.

"I think the _love_ in side of you is making you grumpy," Grant said, poking me in the stomach.

"I am two seconds away from ripping both your heads off," I said, narrowing my eyes. They took my advice and both walked away, chuckling. They were wrong. I was most certainly _not_ in love.

_Oh, God. How did this happen? How could I possibly be in love? _I thought the next morning as I watched Cammie and her friends walk into the cafeteria. When I saw her, I knew Grant and Jonas were right because my gut tightened and I felt light-headed. Bex was leading the group and she was leading them towards us. She looked so darn beautiful. Her eyes gorgeous, blue eyes entranced me and the thought of being able to talke to her filled my head and made me want to smile. But, of course I had to play it cool. So, I put on my signature smirk and scooted over for her to sit down by me.

She heaved a big sigh as she plopped down next to me.

"Hey Gallagher girl," I said smoothly.

"Don't," she said sharply. Even though her tone was as sharp as nails, my heart leaped when I heard his voice.

"Don't what?" I asked, moderately confused.

"You know what I mean," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"No, I don't." She took two eggs and a piece of toast off of the main tray and put them on her plate.

"I just don't want to deal with you right now."

"How come?" She sighed and rolled here eyes.

"Because you're annoying." An amused smile played across my lips.

"Am not," I said, protesting.

"Are too."

"You hardly know me," I pointed out.

"Exactly."

I raised my eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I hardly know you and I already know what your like."

"So I must have an outstanding personality," I said, smirking at her.

"Yeah," she shot back, "outstandingly annoying."

"Fine. What do you think I'm like?"

"A sexist pig," she said, looking me in the eyes. She stabbed a piece of her egg and put it in her mouth.

My face twisted up in pain. "Ouch."

"You asked."

"I didn't think you'd hand it to me so straight," I said, my face still twisted, but this time in consideration.

"Well, I did," she said, her tone filled with finality, ending the conversation.

_Cammie_

Zach strode behind me, looking around the hallways. I was stuck showing him to all his classes which meant that I was painfully stuck with every class as him. He was touching everything he passed; ever ancient photograph, every priceless artifact and I was about ready to kill him.

"Will you stop walking thirty miles an hour?" Zach called out.

"Would you stop touching every single thing you pass? Before you break something." I said, stopping and turning around. He collided into me, not expecting my sudden stop. I started to fall backwards, but he quickly grabbed my waist and pulled me up to a standing position.

"Be careful," he instructed. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself." My words didn't seem to reach him, though. He was just staring at where his arm was still wrapped around my waist. It surprised me to see the intensity in his eyes and also scared me for some reason. I reached down and unwound his arm from my waist. He snapped out of it and looked up at me; our eyes locked. "Let's go," I said quickly, my voice low. I tore my eyes from his and abruptly continued to walk down the hallway. He hesitated for a moment, but then he was at my side within a second. This time, I had to practically run to keep up with him; two of his strides equaled five of mine. We were carried by the flow of girls walking in the same direction. I noticed how all of the girls eyed Zach appreciatively as we passed. But, I couldn't blame them. I couldn't help admiring the way he pulled off the 'I-just-woke-up' look. His hair was ruffled and his pants hung low on his hips. The cuffs of his shirt were undone, the sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, and his top two buttons were unbuttoned; showing his white undershirt that clung tight to his glorious chest. His tie was loosely knotted and the small amount of stubble on his chin seemed to make his green eyes sharper. Gosh darnit, why did he have to be so hot?

"So what class are we going to?" he asked, his tone bored.

"COW."

He shot me a look. "And do you expect me to know what that means?"

"Countries of the World, stupid."

He raised his eyebrows. "Isn't someone friendly, today?" he said sarcastically. I cringed as someone accidentally elbowed me in the ribs. I'm sure Zach loved all the lustful stares he was receiving, because his face completely glowed with confidence and his smirk danced across his lips.

"Well, you bring out the worst in me," I said truthfully.

"I don't believe that." I could hear the amused ton leaking into his voice.

"Of course you don't. Because you only believe what you want. And that's why you think you have friends." He ignored me completely.

"I think that you're cranky because when you see me, you realize that we're soul mates and-"

"No!" I interrupted.

"And you don't like that because you probably have a boyfriend-"

"Stop," I said forcefully. He held his hand up to me, telling me to stop talking.

"Do you know that it's rude to interrupt?" he asked me, giving me a look telling me to shut up. By this point, we had stopped walking again and we're standing off to the side of the hallway. Some people were stopping to watch the drama unfolding. "Now, as I was saying; you probably have a boyfriend, and you are probably convinced you are _"in love"_ with this guy. But, we both know that you obviously aren't. That's impossible for you to be in love with him, because again we are _soul mates_ and you _love_ me. You just have to figure that out!" He concluded, throwing his hands in the air and smiling like a maniac. I wanted to slap him. Was he insane?

"Are you _insane?"_ His smile never faltered as he turned around and began to walk down the hall again. The people who had stopped to watch us continued on walking, too. "You must be mentally ill if you think I am in love with you! Only one part of that whole theory is right. And that is that I have a boyfriend; who I actually and truly love." His eyebrows pulled together in a scowl.

"You'll change your mind over time," he said, talking to himself more than to me. I sighed heavily but decided to let it slide. There was no point in arguing because I knew whatever I said would just go in one ear and out the other.

The bell rang and we had to sprint the rest of the way to class. When we got to the classroom door we were late, and my dad was there, waiting, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sorry dad, I was showing Zach around after breakfast and we lost track of time," I lied smoothly. I didn't like lying to my dad but sometimes it couldn't be avoided. Zach nodded at my dad in acknowledgement.

"Morning Mr. Morgan," Zach said as he breezed by into the room. My dad looked down at me and raised his eyebrows.

"I'm letting you go this time, but just because it's the first day. Now go find a seat." He ruffled my hair as I walked past him into the room and he shut the door behind us. Zach was sitting in the second row, furthest to the left. So, I sat in the seat furthest away that I could.

"Hello class, my name is Mr. Morgan as many of you know and this is COW; Countries of the World." I zoned out as he went into his spiel that I heard every year and that he always practiced during the summer. Today, all of the classes would be teachers handing out fliers for sports and for fundraisers and talking about the upcoming year. There would be no work done at all. And even if there was something I missed, I could always get it from dad later.

I looked over at Zach across the room. Soon, my thoughts wandered to what I thought his family was like and what his back story was. I guessed that he grew up in a city as a single child. I could imagine him in a city apartment in New York City, walking around and buying ice cream and hot dogs from the vendors on the street. Maybe even working at one of the small stores a block down from his apartment.

Then, my thoughts wandered to my past summer. This summer was my best one ever. Memories of Josh and I lying on the school roof on hot July nights; our fingers interlaced and my head on his shoulder swam threw my head. Then there were the memories of us walking downtown, in shorts and t-shirts, our strides matching each others as we licked ice cream cones; his Rocky Road and mine Strawberry. Memories of his lips on mine and his thumb running circles on my hand made me shiver and almost cry with happiness.

"Psst, Cammie," A familiar voice hissed from across the room. I groaned and put my head into my hands, rubbing the palm of my hands into my eyes. My dad looked up and sent Zach a sharp look. He didn't seemed fazed by it though because he just kept looking at me. It was going to be really hard to persuade this boy that we were _not_ "soul mates." Because we definitely weren't. Right?

He followed me out the door from the last period of the day. He looked around as he slowly followed behind me, obviously checking out the girls around him. Gross. But at the same time, I could say the same thing about my sisters.

"Where do we go from here?" he asked. His question surprised me a little, and at first I didn't know what he was talking about.

"We're just friends," I said sharply. He gave me a questioning look, and then started laughing, the beautiful sound ringing through the hall.

"I know that. I mean do we go back to our rooms or do we go to the dinning hall for dinner?" he asked. I blushed, my cheeks turning a brilliant pink. I guess you could say "I looked like a tomato" except for the fact that I didn't. My cheeks were a flaming pink, not red. So, I guess I looked like a pink tomato.

"Your dorms. I'm guessing you know where that is. Dinner is at six," I said quickly, my tone unfriendly and stiff, still embarrassed.

"Okay."

Silence.

"Well, thanks for showing me around, I guess. It was really nice of you," he said, looking over at me. I was about to reply and tell him how my mom forced me and he could leave me alone now, but then my phone started to ring. My heart jumped into my throat, and I anxiously pulled my phone out and hit the _talk_ button, forgetting about Zach following behind me.

"Josh!" I squealed.

"Cam how was school?" he asked, making me giddy and making my stomach flutter just by hearing his voice.

"It was okay," I said, suddenly remembering about Zach behind me and lowering my voice under his hearing range. "It was a long day; I had to show one of the new kids around." Zach obviously heard and scowled.

"Oh, come on. Give me credit. I'm not that bad." He complained. Then, a smirk spread across his face. "Who is that anyway? You're _boyfriend?"_

I glared at him.

"Oh my god, it is!" Zach exclaimed at the same time Josh said,

"Who is that?"

"No one, just the annoying guy I'm showing around," I said into the phone, making sure Zach heard me. Amusement played across Zach's face.

"I want to talk to him," Zach said, grabbing for the phone. I turned my back to him so that he couldn't get to it.

"Oh, well is he bugging you?" Josh asked. Zach pressed his cheek against mine so that he could hear what Josh was saying. I tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he had one arm slung firmly around my shoulder and there was no point. He was strong.

"Yeah, but that's just kind of his personality. You know? To bug the hell out of everyone he meets," I said, throwing Zach stony looks. He just laughed silently.

"Well, if he keeps bugging you, I'll put him in his place," Josh said loudly, obviously trying to have Zach over hear him. Zach started laughing out loud this time, and I had to admit I almost started laughing too. Truthfully, Zach easily had a couple inches on Josh, and more muscle too. Josh, who I always thought looked big and manly, would look small next to Zach. There was no way Josh would be able to win that fight. But, then I realized if I laughed, Zach might think I was taking his side, and so I settled for an amused grin.

"I'll let you know if he hurts my honor," I teased affectionately. I could imagine Josh smiling on the other end of the phone, sitting in his room, the TV muted and first day slips syllabuses spread out in front of him.

"I really miss you," he said softly. I heard the almost noiseless thud of him flopping back onto his bed. My heart sank as I counted all of those months in between now and the summer when we wouldn't have to only see each other on weekends. Zach fake-gagged, still latched onto me, his ear pressed to the phone. I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on his chest, pushing against it as hard as I could. He didn't even budge. Honestly, I didn't even think he knew I was trying to push him away.

"I know, it's only been two days, but it's felt like months. I think we have a town day on Friday, will you skip school to come hang out with me?" I asked, my heart starting to rise again at the thought of seeing him. Zach frowned at me.

"Of course," Josh said gently. I smiled.

"Now I have something to get me through the week," I said.

He laughed. "Me too. But, I got to get going. Chase and Dee Dee are coming over soon and I think we're going out with some others for a dinner celebration. You know, for getting through the first day of school."

"Okay, I'll let you go then."

"Wish I didn't have to go." I smiled.

"I love you, Josh." Zach narrowed his piercing and shockingly beautiful green eyes, then rolled them.

"Love you Cam." My heart exploded with happiness as I hit the _end_ button and folded the phone back up, putting it in my pocket. My head was up in the clouds, just after a couple minutes of hearing his voice. My heart was somewhere up there with my head, soaring.

"That was gross," Zach said, snapping me out of my happiness and wrinkling up his nose in disgust.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you thought all girls have cooties," I growled, officially mad. He laughed.

"Cooties? No. What is gross is the fact that you're dating such a tool," Zach said, still laughing. I stopped dead in my tracks, making Zach stop too and turn to look at me.

"He. Is. Not. A. Tool," I said slowly and reminding myself to stay calm.

"Whatever floats your boat, princess," he said, smirking. What he thought of my boyfriend should _not_ bug me this much. But, he just had a way of getting under my skin.

"Oh, and you think you're any better?" I asked, scowling at him.

"Of course, I am," Zach said confidently before turning on his heel and striding quickly back to his dorm. I was fuming, but the one thing that kept running through my head was: _how did he manage to get the last word?_


	6. Chapter 6

The roof felt cold against my back, and the air surrounding me had a nice bit to it. The sky was pitch black, the stars were out and twinkling. It was Thursday and I had just gotten through another painful day of classes and of Zach. He annoyed me to no end, but every time I saw those piercing, mysterious, green eyes, my heart couldn't help leaping.

I just didn't get how he could make me feel like that when he was so painfully annoying. And plus, I had a boyfriend. There was no way that I liked him. So what was that feeling he gave me? Luckily, I get to see Josh tomorrow. I couldn't wait to be with him and have him hold me. I couldn't wait to be in his embrace and have his lips on mine. Maybe, seeing him will knock me out of whatever stupor I'm in with Zach.

"Cameron," a deep, voice spoke. A tall figured stood behind me, looking down at me. I sat up and looked at him.

"Hi daddy," I said, patting the spot beside me. He smiled and came and lied down next to me.

"I thought I'd find you here," he said, putting his hands behind his head.

"I love it up here," I said softly, looking up at the sky "It's a great place to think. And study the stars. They're so amazing; there's so many." Dad nodded.

"Do you see that one up there," he said, pointing to one that looked like the shape of a lizard. I smiled.

"Yeah."

"It's my favorite," he told me. "Wanna know why?"

"Why?" I asked, interested.

"Because it's called the chameleon. It's a lizard, so it can blend in anywhere, disappear and hardly be seen. Just like you," he said looking over at me. I smiled. I had this special thing where if I didn't want to be seen, you couldn't see me. And if I wanted to disappear, I could and no one could find me. People said I was like a chameleon. **(AN: She's not a spy but she can still do this)**

"I think I like that one too," I said, my voice quiet so I wouldn't interrupt the stillness of the world surrounding us.

"I thought you'd say that," my dad said gently.

Silence. But it was a good one, one filled with a father's love to her daughter.

"Did you know that you're special?" he finally said, breaking the silence.

"How come?" I asked.

"Because you're a Morgan," he said, "And even better; you're _Cammie_ Morgan. The one and only." I smiled and looked over at him. His brown hair, a little darker than mine, was cut short, just to stay out of his way. His brown eyes-the ones that Thomas had gotten-stared back at me, filled with love.

"I love you daddy."

"Love you more, Cammie," my dad said, reaching over and giving my hand squeeze before getting up and walking away. I sighed and looked up at the sky, studying it once more before getting up and walking back to my dorm so I could get some sleep before the upcoming day.

"Wake up!" Bex yelled, jumping on my bed and shaking my shoulders. I groaned and threw my pillow at her, not opening my eyes. "Cammie, wake up!" I groaned even louder, because her voice was shrill to my ears and made my head pound.

"Bex, shut up!" I heard Macey yell from across the room. I dared to open one eye, trying to get it adjusted to the light. Macey was sitting up in her bed, glaring at Bex. Somehow, her hair was absolutely perfect down to the last natural curl. Mine was frizzy and tangled in knots; completely uncontrollable.

"You need to wake up too, missy," Bex scolded, getting off my bed and walking towards the bathroom. "It's a _town day!"_ Bex threw over her shoulder before shutting the bathroom door behind her.

At hearing that, my other eye snapped open and I was out of my bed in no time. I completely forgot, but today I was going to get to see Josh. Liz looked up from her computer and her desk where she had probably been, up and ready, for the last couple hours.

"Hey, Mace?" I asked. Macey looked up at me expectantly.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I know this is something that, you know, I probably wouldn't usually ask, but could you maybe…uhm…do my makeup," I said, mumbling the last part. Macey's eyes widened and Bex peeked her head out of the bathroom.

"Did she just say what I think she said?" Bex asked, her jaw hanging. Liz watched quietly from her desk. Macey nodded, stood up, smiled, grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the bathroom.

A half hour later, my hair is slightly curled and hanging loosely at my shoulders and I have natural-looking makeup on my face, making my blue eyes pop. They wanted to completely smother me with makeup, but I refused to look like a Barbie. I just wanted to look nice for Josh. Since, it was warm out today; I threw on jean shorts with a brown belt, and a purple spaghetti strap shirt with flip flops. Macey and Bex eyed their work appreciatively before getting ready their selves.

Town day was a big day for Gallagher Girls, because it was the only time we could meet up with friends that don't go to Gallagher, shop downtown, just hang out in the streets of Roseville, or as many girls did; talk to boys. Sure, people could come visit us on the weekends, but other than town days, we couldn't leave campus.

How town day worked was we all had to go to our first period, so Bex and I walked down to COW and Macey and Liz split up to go to their classes. Your teacher would gather the class into one of the schools big, white vans and drive them into town. Of course, the teacher's would stay in town with everyone to monitor, and also doing shopping of their own or going out to eat.

"Hey Bex," I heard Grant's voice call the minute we walked into my dad's classroom. We looked over at Zach and Grant who were standing towards the front of the room. Zach was wearing shorts and a plain white t-shirt, that clung to his muscles, showing how toned they were. I forced myself to look up at his eyes, but that wasn't any better because the minute my eyes locked with his green ones, butterflies rattled in my stomach. I wanted to slap myself across the face. As soon as we got over there, Bex and Grant started talking, leaving me to talk to Zach.

"You look good today," Zach spoke first, teasingly, "What's the occasion?" I rolled my eyes at him. When I didn't answer, he got the drift. "Ohh, you dressed up for Jimmy." He smirked. I scowled.

"Josh," I snapped at him. He shrugged, looking bored.

"Josh, Jimmy, same difference."

"Whatever," I said, turning around and scanning the room for someone else to talk too. How could he mess with my emotions so much? How could I possibly like him one minute and then want to kill him the next? He was not healthy for me and my mind.

"Class, please follow me," my dad said loudly from the doorway. Fifteen pairs of eyes turned to look at him and then quickly followed behind him, everyone chatting about what they were going to do. Zach walked up behind me and slipped an arm around my shoulder.

"Why don't you ditch Jimmy and hang out with me?" Zach asked, looking over at me.

"It's Josh," I said sharply. "And no way. I've been waiting to long to see Josh."

"He's a tool," Zach said, his voice flat. "I don't like him."

"I don't give a rats ass if you like him or not," I said, shrugging his arm off of me.

"Oh come on, I'd be so much more exciting than Jimmy," Zach said, smirking.

"Why do you insist on calling him that? You obviously know that his name is Josh! So just call him Josh!" I cried, frustrated. Zach's smirk grew bigger.

"Because, competitors aren't supposed to like each other," he said, moving a little closer so that our shoulders were touching as we walked.

"He's not your competitor," I said, frowning. Our group walked out of the big front doors and toward one of the white vans parked on the lawn.

"Yes, he is."

"There's no competition."

"Yeah, there is."

"Well, fine. But your going to lose," I said, looking over to read his expression. He smirked. Of course.

"We'll see."

"So, what do you expect me to do while you're off with Jimmy?" Zach asked, as we pulled off campus. I sighed, not bothering to correct him this time.

"I don't know. Go find a girl. Do whatever you like," I said, looking out the window. A girl behind us; Tina Walters, cleared her throat.

"You could hang out with me," she said, suggestively, winking at him. "Maybe you could take me to a movie." Zach turned around to look at her, giving her his most charming smile.

"You know what, I think I will. You can be my date for the day," Zach said back, equally flirtatiously. Blood rushed to my head and I started to get mad. Was he really going to take Tina Walters out? Tina let out a girly giggle and I wanted to punch him in the face. I dug my nails into the palm of hand and took a deep breath. I tried to zone out their conversation of where they should go and what they should do, and tried to think of Josh. There was no reason to be mad. I didn't like Zach, he didn't like me. We weren't together. I loved Josh.

The van pulled into a parking garage ten minutes later and I flung myself out of the car, trying to get as far away from Zach and Tina as possible. They were still talking and flirting pathetically as they got out of the van. Immediately, I scanned the garage for Josh, and saw him waiting at the stair well. He smiled when our eyes locked and I walked over to him, as fast as I could. When I reached where he was standing, I jumped into his arms and threw my arms around his neck. His arms snaked around my waist and pulled me into a big hug. His smell of mint and Axe hit me like the smell of pancakes cooking when you first wake up. I felt his lips plant a kiss in my hair and I was so happy to be in his arms. After a minute, I looked up at him and planted a small kiss on his lips. Somewhere behind me, I felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of my head. I swiveled my head around to see Zach's gaze switching in between Josh and me. When he looked at Josh, his gaze turned into a glare and when he looked at me, his eyes softened a little. For a minute, I felt something, maybe guilt. But then, I noticed Tina latched onto his arm, chatting away, a flirtatious smile on her lips. Anything that I was feeling for him emotionally disappeared and I looked back at Josh.

"Let's go," I said, smiling.

_Zach_

The girl wouldn't shut up. She just kept chatting and chatting the rest of the car ride and even after we got out of that big van. Of course, I was hardly looking. The whole time I was pretending to flirt and listen, my eyes were secretly glued to Cammie. I really don't know why I was so attracted to her. Obviously, she was pretty; most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And her eyes were entrancing. But, it was also her attitude and the way she carried herself. She let no one mess with her, no one boss her around and she was so confident. So sure of herself. Well, at least she made it seem that way.

As soon as we got out of the van, Tina latched herself onto my arm, and of course I pretended to be interested. But really, my whole attention was on Cammie and who I guessed was Jimmy. Josh. Whatever his name was.

His arms were wrapped around her waist and she folded into him in a big embrace. Her arms were around his neck as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. She then tilted her head up to look at him and gave him a kiss on the lips. I cringed. But, I couldn't help glaring at the tool she was with. I hated him. Only because she chose him over me.

"I know where we can go," I lied smoothly, cutting Tina off from what she had said. Tina looked up at me, blinking, surprised for the interruption.

"Okay," she said, letting me lead her out of the garage.

"Here we are," I said, four blocks walked later. I pointed to a restaurant that Cammie and Jimmy had walked into a couple minutes before. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose in disgust when I saw it was a _pizza_ shop.

"I love pizza," she said. I gave her a pointed look. _I hated pizza._ The greasiness made me want to barf. I don't get how someone could sit there and eat cheese and bread put in an oven and practically dipped in a vat of grease.

"Well, they probably have salad," I said, basically to myself, and gently took her wrist and pulled her through the door. The smell of pizza hit me, and I felt like I was in hell. My stomach screamed at me to run out the door, but I stayed; for Cammie. I scanned the booths until I saw them sitting in a booth in the back.

"Hey look! It's Cammie and Jimmy! Why don't we go sit by them," I said pretending surprise. Tina scowled.

"Zach, if you wanted to ruin Cammie's date, you could have just told me," Tina said, popping her hip and placing her hand on it. I smiled.

"How did you know?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not stupid. We've been following them for the last four blocks and now you expect me to think we by accidentally picked the same restaurant as them?" she said, a smile turning up at the corner of her mouth.

I just laughed.

"So, are we going to go ruin their date or what?"

"You'll help me?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I hate Josh. He's too perfect to be true. There has to be something wrong with that boy, something big. No one is that perfect," Tina said, biting her lip sub-consciously.

"Well, thanks. I appreciate it," I said.

She shrugged. "No biggy. Now come on, let's go ruin a date." We walked to the back of the restaurant and slid in next to Cammie. Tina slid in next to Jimmy.

"Long time no see, Gallagher Girl," I said, smirking. I scooted closer so that our thighs were touching; she didn't seem to notice. Her face went pale at first in shock, then it morphed into disbelief, then into anger. Her cheeks turned red and her brows furrowed as she got madder and madder. It was actually really cute.

"_What_ are you _doing_ here, _Zach_?" she practically growled. I looked at her, giving her my most innocent face I possibly could.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Why on Earth are you here?" she asked, calming just a fraction.

"Me and Tina just love pizza, so we wanted to come here and eat. _Then_ we saw you guys and we decided to come sit with you," I said, making the whole thing up. Cammie raised her eyebrows, her lips pulled down into a frown.

"You hate pizza," she pointed out.

Dang.

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do," she said forcefully.

"Says who?" I said, smirking at her 'so-angry-it's-cute' face.

"You. Last night you refused to eat the pizza at dinner."

"Hmm…Do you remember that, Tina? Because I don't," I said, looking over at Tina. Tina shook her head, agreeing with me. Cammie groaned and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Oh, you must be Jake!" I said, turning to Jimmy. "I have heard _so_ much about you. Cammie is absolutely _nuts_ about you. She talks about you constantly." Jimmy gave me a weird look, completely confused, as he should be, before turning to Cammie.

"Who's Jake?" he asked, his forehead wrinkling up in confusion. Cammie looked at him, her eyes sparkling.

"He's just kidding, hon," Cam said, reaching over and taking his hand. Jimmy looked over at me.

"Yup!" I said popping the _p_, "I was just kidding around with you, Jimster." Josh looked over at me, scowling now.

"Who are you, anyway?" he asked, a hint of frustration and anger in his voice.

"I am Zach Goode," I said thrusting my hand out for him to shake. He ignored it. I smirked. "AKA, Cammies future husband." Jimmy narrowed his eyes and looked over at Cammie, who had her head in her hands.

"Cammie, who is this guy?" he asked, anger now apparent in his voice.

"He's…he's…he's Zach," was the only thing she could muster.

"Gallagher Girl, you forgot the part about how I'm your future husband and soul mate," I half-whispered, nudging her on her shoulder. Tina had to cover her mouth to hide her smile, but Jimmy was full-out glaring and Cammie looked like she wanted to kill me. Small drops of water started to fall; making it sound like someone was tapping against the roof. A waitress appeared, slid a basket of fries onto the table and left.

"Don't call her that," Jimmy said.

"Call her what?" I asked, my eyes widening in mock-innocence.

"Gallagher Girl. Don't call her that," his tone was a little sharp.

"Why not? That's what she is," I said, my tone a little sharp too now, popping a French fry into my mouth. The rain was hitting the roof harder now and a lightning bolt struck somewhere.

"I don't care, don't call her that."

"Guys, stop," Cammie said, speaking to both of us, but glaring at me. We both looked at her; Jimmy steaming and me just smirking. Tina silently watched the drama unfolding. The air crackled with our energy, a deadly silence floating around us all.

"Cammie, I think I'm going to go to school," Jimmy finally said, breaking the silence. Cammie looked at him, her eyes pleading and reached for his hand.

"Please stay," she said, her eyes trying to capture his attention, but he wouldn't stop glaring at me.

"Sorry, I just remembered I have a Calc test," he mumbled, obviously lying. Cammie looked like she wanted to cry, and it was then that I started to feel a little guilty.

"Oh," she said quietly.

"Sorry," he said again, standing up, giving her hand a squeeze, getting out of the booth and walking out the door. The minute he was out the door, she stood up and squeezed past me out of the booth, walking fast towards the door and not looking me in the eyes.

"Thanks for helping Tina. But, I got to go," I said over my shoulder as I followed her out the door. When I walked outside, all hell was breaking loose. Rain poured down from the sky, pounding against my head and shoulders. Thunder rumbled every couple of seconds and lighting lit up the sky. I scanned the crowd and saw Cammie disappearing down an alleyway. Quickly, I ran to catch up with her, preparing myself for the explosion of anger she was going to throw at me.

"Cammie, stop!" I yelled after her. She made no move to turn around and speak to me so I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face me. My heart clenched when it saw the tears streaking down her face, mixed with rain water. I wouldn't be able to tell she was crying because of the rain if her eyes hadn't been red and swollen.

"What?" she chocked out. "What do you _want?" _she said, trying to wriggle out of my grip. She still refused to look me in the eye.

"Cammie," I said gently, not sure what to say. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not, Zach. That's the sad part. If you were sorry, if you even cared, then you wouldn't have done that. Zach, I _love _him. I don't see why you don't get that. I _love _him. You can't mess things up for me with him!" She yelled, still barely being heard over the thunder and pounding of the rain. I shook my head, not believing it.

"Don't do that!" she cried. "Don't shake your head! Stop ruining my life and go away!" She turned and ran away, making my heart pound in my chest and shrink. I wanted to go after her, but my feet wouldn't move; they wouldn't let me.

_Cammie_

I wanted to hate him. I wanted to want to strangle him, but I couldn't. And that's what scared me the most. No matter how long I sat in my library, re-reading the same line in my book over and over, willing myself to hate him; I couldn't. I knew I had to stay away from him though. He was bad for me; like a drug. My phone vibrated in my sweats pocket; it was probably Bex wanting to know what happened to me, or Josh wanting to know what the heck happened at the restaurant. He would probably be mad and I really didn't want to deal with that.

I didn't want to deal with anyone. That's why I had my dad drive me back to the school. He didn't ask what was wrong or why I was crying, he just drove me back. This is just one of the many reasons I love my dad. When I got back, I hopped in the shower and threw on sweats and a t-shirt, not even bothering to brush my hair; just throwing it back into a messy bun. Then, I had come to my secret library, knowing everyone would be back soon.

Why did life have to be so hard? Why did love have to be so hard? Why couldn't you just know who was the one without having to give it a second thought? And why on Earth did I have to start to fall for Zach? Yeah, you heard it right. I. Am. Falling. For. Zach. And I don't like it one bit.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I know I am soo sorry. I haven't updated in just about forever but I kind of have a good reason. Two good reasons!**

**I had three major projects due plus additional homework and a ton of dance and I've hardly had time to think.**

**My computer _sucks_ and it was broken for a while. And it took me forever to write this pathetic excuse for a chapter because it's so slow.**

**So, hopefully those excuses help and again I'm so sorry for this horrible chapter and not updating in forever. I'll try to update on my other story also. Plus, I have another billion ideas for stories that I want to try and make. ENJOY!**

The opening to my library opened a couple meters away above me, the rusty creaking breaking the even silence of the room. I just kept reading, not bothering to see who it was. I already knew. The soft thud of feet hitting the ground echoed through the room and I still didn't look up. The hatch on the ceiling closed and the room got a bit darker.

"Cammie?" Bexs' gentle and hesitant voice spoke. She was the only one who knew about this place other than me. "Cammie, hi, hon." I looked up at her, not closing my book. She took this as her cue to go on.

"Can I come sit with you?" she asked. I nodded and she walked forward quickly and sat down next to me, crossing her legs.

"I'm surprised it took you so long to find me," I said, my voice a little hoarse for not talking for a while. Now, I closed my book and leaned my head on her shoulder.

"It didn't. I knew you were here, but there were two Freshman's who would not leave the lounge," Bex complained. I laughed, shaking my head slightly.

"So do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked, tilting her head to look at me. I took in a deep breath.

"Bex," I said slowly, "I blew up on him, because he ruined our date on purpose. Josh _left _because of him. And I did the most _embarrassing _thing." Bex looked over at me, raising her eyebrows and her eyes widening with mis-belief and curiousness.

"What? It couldn't have been that bad."

"It was," I said, putting my head in my hands.

"What? Did you pee yourself?" Bex said, a smile forming on her lips. I smacked her gently.

"No…worse," I said, ashamed. "I cried… _In front of_ _Zach_." Out of everything that happened, I was most worried about this, because I never cried. Hardly showed emotion. Ever. Period. End of story. Crying or showing your emotions, to me, was like telling people that you are vulnerable and raw and exposed. And being raw and exposed was _never_ a good thing, because that's when you could get hurt the worst. Have you ever heard the saying "Kick them when they're down"?

Bex chuckled. "Cammie, it's not bad to show your emotions. You can't be a rock," she told me, putting an arm around my shoulder.

"But it is to me," I groaned.

"Well, then let's go to dinner and show him that your not fazed by the whole thing," she suggested, pulling me up off the couch.

"I am, though," I whined. Bex rolled her eyes and sighed, pushing me towards the exit on the other side of the room.

"You're not going to let him know that," Bex commanded, stepping on the rock sticking out of ground slightly. A section of the wall in front of this slid open and Bex dragged me through it, the wall closing behind us. I pushed away the old orange tapestry in front of us and we walked into the empty hallway.

"Don't I have to change?" I asked Bex , motioning to my baggy sweats and oversized t-shirt.

"No, it's a town day, remember?" Bex said, giving me a cautious glance, probably thinking I was going insane. I rolled my eyes as we rounded the corner to the cafeteria. "Everyone else is already sitting down." I looked over at her and stopped right outside the door.

"Wait, you expect me to actually sit with you guys?" I said, raising my eyebrows. Bex eyebrows shot up too.

"I don't _expect_ you to, I _know_ you will," she said, stopping too.

"No, Bex."

"Yes, Cammie." I groaned.

"Bex," I said, boldly, "I am _not sitting with you guys._"

"Fine. Do whatever," Bex said flatly and walked inside the big doors. _She'd get over it eventually; I mean she's not that stubborn,_ I thought as I followed her in. Macey wouldn't care and Liz probably wouldn't take her nose out of her book long enough to realize I wasn't there. As I was scanning the tables for a place to sit, I could feel an even stare aimed at the back of my head. Slowly, I turned around to see a boy staring at me. He looked younger than me but older than Tom. When he noticed me looking, he quickly turned away. I couldn't make out his face, only that he had wavy brown hair, but for some reason, he felt so familiar. Like I knew him. I smiled. Before I realized what I was doing, without even looking in my friends' direction, I went and sat down next to the boy. I plopped down in between in between him and his friend.

"Hi," I said casually to the group of boys surrounding me. All of them looked up at me, surprised that a girl was sitting next to them and not sure what to say. After a slight pause, a chorus of hellos rang out from everyone except the boy who was staring at me. He was looking at his plate and I couldn't see his face still.

"What's your name?" I asked the boy, nudging him slightly.

"Tucker," he said quietly.

"So what grades are you guys in?" I asked them all, but still looking at the one boy.

"Ninth," a stocky, blonde boy in front of me said. To my right, a small boy said he was eighth. I recognized him as one of Thomas' friends. Two more boys told me their ages before every turned to Tucker expectantly.

"Ninth," he mumbled, still very interested on a spot on his plate.

"Do you know my brother, Thomas?" I asked him. "He's in ninth too." Finally, the boy looked up at me and met my eyes. But when he did, I couldn't help take in a quick, sharp breath.

"Yeah," he said, smiling, "He's my best friend." This also surprised me, and made me a little sad that I didn't even know who my brother's best friend was. Still, I couldn't take my eyes off of his.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked him. His brow furrowed but he nodded. "Do you have a brother?"

"Yeah, an older one," he said, giving me a big grin. "You probably know him."

"Really?" I asked, wanting him to tell me more.

"Yeah, because he definitely knows you," he said, laughing. I raised my eyebrows and smiled.

"How so?"

"Jace, tell her what he says," Tucker said to the boy sitting across from him.

"Tell who what who says?" Jace asked, tuning in on the conversation now.

"This is Cammie," Tucker said pointing to me. Jace threw his head back and laughed.

"That's her?" he asked, still chuckling to himself.

"Yeah, I'm Cammie. Now tell me what you guys are talking about!" I said, sending them a slight glare.

"We're talking about Zach, my brother, and how he won't shut his trap about you," Tucker said, looking up at me with an identical pair of emerald green eyes as Zach's.

_Zach_

I searched the string of people pouring in through the doors for Cammie. Bex had gone to get her. Jonas and Liz were chatting about something new they were planning to invent and Macey and Grant were having a conversation about if Bex could kick his butt or not. She could.

Honestly, I didn't care, though. I just wanted to talk to Cammie. After the whole scene in the alley, she disappeared. She wasn't even in the van on the way back and I searched all of Gallagher for her. She really knew how hide when she didn't want to be seen, because not many people can hide from me.

Finally, Bex walked in through the big cafeteria doors with Cammie in tow. It surprised me though when she stopped in the middle of the cafeteria and scanned the tables, not even bothering to look over this way. I was about to get up and approach her when she suddenly turned to the right and her eyes snapped to one person in general. I followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at Tucker. My stomach jumped. Before I knew it, she walked over to his table and sat down right in between him and his friend. They started to talk about something, Tucker not meeting her gaze at first, then slowly warming up to her. Her eyes widened the first time their eyes met and I knew I was in for it, especially when Tucker and Jace started laughing.

Quickly, I stood up and walked briskly over to their table. Tucker looked up at me and smiled.

"Oh hey Zach!" he said, his voice switching octaves, like every other fourteen year old boy going through puberty. Cammie turned around and her jaw and shoulders tensed. She narrowed her eyes.

"Hey Tucker," I said flatly.

"We met your girlfriend," he said, a smirk dancing across his lips. My smirk.

"He wishes," I heard Cammie say. My eyes flickered over to her briefly.

"She's not my girlfriend," I agreed, staring down Tucker. Tucker thought his goal in life was to get under my skin and annoy me constantly.

"Oh, right. She's out of your league, I get it," Tucker teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Wow, that one hurt, Tuck," my voice laced with sarcasm, "Now, Cammie, can I talk to you?"

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms. I rolled my eyes.

"You'll figure out if you come talk to me."

"I rather not."

"Don't be childish."

"I'm not."

"Then talk to me."

"What does it look like I'm doing right now?"

I groaned. "Cameron, don't make me carry you out those doors," I threatened.

"You wouldn't," she said menacingly." I smirked.

"Yeah, he would. He's that desperate," Tucker piped in. I let the comment slide, because Cammie gave in and stood up.

"You have five minutes," she said, walking past me quickly, making me run to catch up with her.

"That's all I need."

"What do you want Zach?" she asked once we were out in the deserted hallway. "You've already annoyed me to death, ruined my date and lied to me about your brother. What else do you want?" Her tone was vicious.

"I never lied to you," I said calmly.

"Then how come you never told me?"

"You never asked," I said, shrugging. "But what I wanted to talk about was today. In town." A blush crept up her neck and onto her cheeks.

"I don't want to talk about that."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Why do you always have to argue with me?"

"Because I hate you," she said, trying to get to me, but the words sounded weak and pathetic. Like she knew she was lying. Like she was trying to convince herself that the words were true, but she just couldn't.

"Lie," I said my tone completely void of any emotion.

"What do you want me to tell you then?" she said, throwing her hands in the air.

"The truth."

_Cammie_

I stared at him incredulously, almost shaking because of rage. He made me so mad, but also made me weak at the knees. I hated him. Well, at least I wanted to. Then, before I could even think about what I was doing, I was talking rapidly. Bursting at the seams.

"So, you want me to tell you that I want to hate you, because of that stupid, annoying smirk and your stupid, cocky attitude. And I want to hate you because of your stupid green eyes that always get to me. I want to hate you because I hardly know you, but yet you have latched yourself into my brain and onto my thoughts and no matter what you won't go away. Do you want me to tell you that no matter how hard I try I can't hate you? I could tell you that I want nothing more than not to like you, but that is completely and utterly impossible. That's the truth." When I finished my rant, I realized what I had just said to him and a blush slowly made my cheeks turn pink. I thought he would smirk or laugh at me. But he didn't. Instead, he closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I thought about pushing him away, but I was too tired. Too tired of fighting him and of battling against my feelings.

"I'm so tired of it. I don't know what to do," I said, cringing at how weak my voice sounded.

"Just stop fighting it," he said softly.

"Stop fighting what?"

"Destiny." A chill ran up my spine and for the second time that day I broke all my rules and let a single tear slide down my cheek.

**Well I'll try to update soon! Pleaseee review! And ideas! I need ideas! You guys are great! Butttt I won't write anymore unless you guys review and I know people actually like this story and want more! Thanks(:**


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh my gosh. I am soooo sorry! My computer was just fixed so that's how I'm getting this chapter out FINALLY. I am sooo mad at myself but I had no way to get this chapter up. It's really bad, because I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF READING THE FIFTH GALLAGHER GIRL BOOK. My friend got it early somehow and got me a copy! Ahhhh its sooo freaking good, I can't wait to hear what you guys think of it when it comes out Tuesday! Okay, so disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful, piece of art called the Gallagher Girl series. Ally Carter does.**

"He kind of looks like Zach," Bex decided, studying the boy sitting on the floor in front of us. Bex and I sat on a couch in the library, the book cases surrounding us and Tucker sat cross legged at our feet. Macey leaned against a book shelf, flipping through a magazine, and Liz was in the lab with Dr. Steve working on some sort of project I would never be able to understand. Tucker's eyebrows shot up and then furrowed, practically touching.

"No!" He countered. "Ew. I look _nothing_ like him." I laughed at this and pulled my fight up onto the couch into Bex's lap and rested back on the arm rest.

"Honey, you'd be _lucky_ to look like that _fine_ boy," Macey said to Tucker, looking up from her magazine. Then her eyes flickered over to me and met mine. "What do you think Cammie?" A smile spread over her pink lips.

"Sure," I said, wiping my voice clean of anything that would give away any emotion. I waited till Tucker looked away so I could quickly flip Macey off. Bex stifled a giggle and Tucker's head whipped around back to us at the sound, sending us questioning looks. I could see his brain working and kicking into gear, trying to figure out what happened when he was turned around. He was good at solving problems, just like his brother. Both of them were always collecting data and putting it together to figure out a solution. They could never not know what went on, that's why they were both so mysterious. It was like they both knew way too much.

"So any dirty secrets you can tell us?" Bex asked, wagging her eyebrows at Tucker. If she was trying to change the subject like I thought she was, then she did a really good job. Tucker turned to her, his full attention on the question at hand.

"Any of _Zach's_ dirty secrets," Macey clarifies, putting her magazine down and leaning in to join the conversation. I groaned and throw my arms' over my head, pretending that I don't want to listen. But really, my ears are perked at attention, listening to every word. The couch creaks beneath me as I shift onto my side, looking at Tucker.

"Oh, you want to know Zach's secrets?" Tucker asks, his tone making it apparent that he wasn't going to tell us unless we worked for it.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice low but sounding loud in the quiet library.

"I don't know yet," he says, crossing his arms over his chest. "But when I figure out, it's going to be good." A smirk spread across his Zach-look-alike face and only one thought raced through my head. _Oh my God, he really is like Zach._

Zach

Now that Cammie knew that I had a brother, I could tell Tucker was going to almost guarantee that Cammie would never date me. He was going to make my life a living Hell and I could not have that happening. So I decided to have a chat with him.

The big lawn spread out for what seemed like miles, but I knew wasn't. Just looking at the lush grass made me want to take off my shoes and walk around. But that would make me look like a girl, because right now I sure as heck sound like one.

"So what do you want?" Tucker asked skeptically as he studied my face, looking for some sign to tip him off on what was going on. But I kept my face a perfect mask, as always. The only one who could tell my emotions when I didn't want them to was my mom. But I didn't like to talk about her-

"Earth to stupid," Tucker said, snapping in my face and knocking me out of my thoughts.

"Idiot," I mumbled, shoving his hand away from my face. "I wanted to talk to you about you not talking to Cammie anymore," I said, towering over his small frame. Even though I had a good several inches on him, he didn't flinch. His stare didn't even waver as he stared back up at me. This kid thought he was pretty tough, he _was_ pretty ballsy. Cocky even.

"Why? Scared a _ninth_ grader could steal your girl?" he countered. I laughed at the notion of him ever being able to steal a girl from me. But it wasn't a real laugh though; there was no trace of amusement in it.

"No, I'm scared you're going to scare her off," I snapped back at him. His lips were pulled down into a frown and he crossed his arms.

"No. I won't scare her off," he says defiantly.

"Oh. And how do you know that?" I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the sun that ever so slightly peeked out from a cloud.

"She's my friend." I cringe at the notion of my brother being friends with the girl I like. Has anyone ever been in the situation where they're little brother is friends with the girl they're crushing on? No? Well, let me tell you. It's not a fun situation.

"You're friends?"

"Yeah. F-r-i-e-n-d-s. Friends," he said slowly as if I was stupid. The sun beat down relentlessly as I smirked down at him.

"Well, we're just going to have to change that," I said with mock-sweetness. Tucker narrowed his eyes threateningly as I leaned down to his height, patted his check mockingly, turned on my heel and stormed away. I felt his eyes burning a hole through my head the whole way inside. And all I could think was _Wow this kid is way too much like me._

Tucker

I found her in a secret passageway she thought I didn't know about. It was the one behind the painting of Gilly Gallagher. The room was lit poorly; I could just make out that she was curled up on the big love seat with a worn out book in her hands. She sensed I was there, but yet waited till she was done with her page to look up.

"Tucker," she said enthusiastically. "I knew you were smart enough to find these passageways." I smiled at her in response. It was nice to know someone saw my potential. Cobwebs hung down from the ceiling and draped over an ancient desk in the corner of the room. This small room could have been an old, private office or a secret dorm. But now Cammie had changed it into whatever she wanted this place to be. That struck me as interesting. This room used to belong to someone else with a different story, in a different time. But now she could remodel it and shape it into whatever she wanted to make it. Then the next person who came along could try and find out her story. Maybe they could find out her story by finding an old book or footprints. I suddenly wanted to help the next person who came along with clues so I walked over to the desk and drew her initials: C.A.M. into the dust covering the desk.

"What are you doing?" she asked, interested now.

"Nothing," I responded quickly. I turned around to face her again. "But I do know what I want to trade secrets for."

"What?" she asked, trying to play it cool, but obviously excited.

"Revenge." She stood up quickly when she heard the word. Her book fell to the floor at her feet and opened to a random page.

"Revenge?" she said, making sure she had heard right. Bending down to pick up the book for her, I nodded. For some reason I felt as if I couldn't meet her eyes as I said the next words with a smirk plastered across my face. It wasn't my smirk though. No it was my brothers.

"Yeah, I want revenge on my brother. Zachary Goode." As I spoke the words a mischievous smile played across her lips and her eyes lit up. In that moment I could tell that revenge on Zach was exactly what we both needed.

**Okay this is realllly bad and really short but I just want to get back to reading the fifth book! I'll update soon! Thanksss guys please review.(:**

**-Me.**


	9. Chapter 9

_**READ THIS OR ELSE YOU WILL BE CONFUSED. **_

**Heyyyy guysss! So in this chapter, even though they are not spies, they do use bugs and comms. I didn't know how else to write this without them, so just pretend non-spies have those things too! Thanks you guys are the best! Oh and I do not own this amazing, spectacular series. The lucky gal Ally Carter does. **

"Operative Baxter, are you ready?" I asked into the comms that was placed in my ear two days later. After two days of scheming and plotting, we were finally ready to get revenge on Zachary Goode.

"I am ready to go, Chameleon," Bex confirmed. If you want to know the reason it took us so long to plan this prank, I wouldn't be the one you should ask. But I'll tell you anyway. For a whole day, none of us could think of anything that would irritate and get Zach really upset. We sat around like idiots, until Macey finally found the solution.

_ "I know!" Macey shouted from her spot on her bed. Different colored nail polish lay around her. When she hopped out of the bed suddenly, four dropped to the floor, landing on the white carpet. _

_ "What?" Liz and Bex asked anxiously at the same time._

_ "Well, what's the one thing that could get Zach upset? The one thing that can drive him into a panic and make him not able to think straight?" Macey asked us all like it was obvious. Which it was. Just not at the time. She continued on when no one answered._

_ "Cammie," she said my name slowly, "Cammie is the one thing that we know that he cares about."_

_ "We don't know that for sure," I protested._

_ "Cammie, look at the facts. He comes up with a cute nickname for you, flirts with you 24/7, despises Josh, crashed your date and has basically told you that he likes you." Bex stated each fact, counting them on her fingers. "This boy has got it bad." _

_ "Well what do you want me to do?" I asked, rolling my eyes at them._

_ "What if we pretend Cammies in danger?" Liz suggested, her quiet voice barely reaching our ears._

And that's how I ended up barefoot, in my pajamas; shorts and a t-shirt, in the middle of the P&E barn at three o'clock in the morning. Bex was stationed outside of Zach's room, ready to let the acting classes she took when she was young become useful. Macey and Anna Fetterman, who agreed to help, were positioned around me. Liz was in our room, by her computer watching everything and controlling everything, ready to pull the best prank in history.

"Okay Bex. Go." As sound as the words were out of my mouth, I heard the crash of Bex slamming Zach's dorm door open. We had bugged their room so that I could hear what went on. Now I was able to know when they were coming.

"Zach! Zach wake up!" I heard Bex cry in a voice so believable, I wanted to reach through the comms and help her myself.

"What, Baxter? What is it?" I heard Zach's deep, masculine voice sounding groggy and annoyed but alert at the same time.

"It's Cammie. I woke up and she was gone! Then I looked out the window and saw some men dragging her out to the P&E barn-"

Zach didn't let her finish her big spiel. I could tell by the loud footprints running out of the room that he was on his way. And before I turned off my comms, I heard Bex lightly laugh and say "Sucker" under her breath. I couldn't help but smile as I told everyone that he was on his way down.

"Cammie!" I heard his voice break through the stillness of the air. I ran to the center of the gym and sat down in the chair, shoving my hands into the fake handcuffs. He turned the corner to the barn and the minute he was inside, the fake kidnapping scene broke into action. Macey and Anna emerged from the dark corners of the barn, dressed from head to toe in black.

"Zach!" I cried. Then, a shot rang through the air. Zach jumped, not knowing that it was an automated sound that Liz made. Macey pretended to fall to the floor, dead. His head whipped around trying to find the source of the shot, scared and confused. Another shot rang out and I swear Zach just about had a heart attack. Anna pretended to drop dead and I cried out again "Zach! Help me!" He started running my way at a dead sprint, his eyes locked on mine. Me being the only thing he cared about right then. In a weird way, it was really sweet.

"Cammie. What happened?" he asked me, reaching me and moving forward to get my handcuffs off. But I was faster. I jumped up and took two big steps away from. Confusion washed over his face, his usual carefully blank mask gone. "Cammie?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a step closer to me, his hand slightly reached out to me as if he wanted more than anything to snatch me up and keep me safe in his arms. But that one step that he took triggered a trip wire, and before he could blink he was covered in three gallons of glue. Yeah, you heard me right. Glue. Elmer's glue. He jumped in shock, his head snapping up to wear the glue came from.

"What the he-"

"Got you," I interrupted, my voice light and airy as I teased him. Slowly, I flipped my hair, ripped off the fake handcuffs and smirked at him, making sure to rub it in.

".." He said, frantically trying to wipe the glue off of his face. It wasn't a question, he was in shock. His face that was usually a mask was now portrayed his shock bright and clear. He shook his head incredulously then something clicked in his eyes. He stopped trying to wipe off the glue and his smirk appeared across his lips, causing mine to slip away. _He _should_ not_ be smirking right now.

"You are _so_ going to pay, Gallagher Girl," he said. And that's when I ran. My bare feet pounded against the wood floors of the barn until I burst out of the doors and into the crisp night. Except, now it was raining too, I could feel the big drops pounding against me. I squealed as my toes hit the wet grass and the rain drops immediately soaked through my t-shirt and doused my hair. But I kept running. He was close behind me, I could feel it. I couldn't help but wander if it was hard for him to run in the rain covered in _glue._ I kept running, even though the rain felt so good and my muscles cried for me to stop. I was so close to the front doors of the school. I could feel it and I tried to drive my muscles to work harder, go faster. I was only maybe ten yards from the door when I felt his muscular arms wrap around my waist. He pulled me back to him and spun me around, my feet leaving the ground. We were both soaked in the rain water, but I didn't care. I laughed as he set me down, only to throw me over his shoulder. I banged on his back and giggles escaped me as I yelled at him to put me down. He laughed too, making his shoulders shake slightly. It wasn't until I saw the huge mud puddle he was walking me towards that I began to squeal.

"Zach! No! You throw me into the mud and I will murder you in your sleep!" I threatened. But it wasn't scary at all, because we both knew I wouldn't.

"Good luck with that Gallagher Girl. No one pranks Zach Goode and gets away with it," he whispered, his voice husky in my ear before I was flying through the air. After what felt like forever, I landed and brown, thick mud rose around me like brown walls before splashing over me. I felt the mud slowly creep into places mud should _never_ be.

"Zach!" I screeched, standing up and blinking through the rain and mud to see him standing at the edge of the pool of mud, laughing. "Zach," I said, softer this time. He looked down at me and smirked.

"Yes?"

"Will you _please_ help me out?" I asked in a sickly sweet voice, extending my arm out for him to take. Hesitation was shown clear in his eyes. But the sight of me drenched in mud, pleading with him must have been enough to wipe the doubt away, because he reached down and pulled me out. Once I was out, I pretended to stumble, purposely falling in his arms.

Zach

Even completely covered in mud, she was so beautiful. Cammie looked up at me from where she was wrapped in my arms. My breath hitched as I realized what she was doing. Slowly, she was leaning forward towards me. In my mind, there was an image of what we probably look liked right then. Two teenagers standing at the edge of a mud pit, in the pouring rain. The strikingly beautiful girl made into a mud monster and the boy covered in glue, enclosing her small frame in his arms. I couldn't stop staring at her lips, but as our lips almost touched, my heart beat as fast as it ever had before and I closed my eyes. That was the fatal mistake.

The next time my eyes opened, I was in the mud pit. The mud mixed with cold rain water slowly soaked through my clothes and goose bumps broke out on my legs and arms. I stared up at her in disbelief. She had broken through all my walls and my carefully placed mask within seconds. And I had lost the game because of it.

"Having fun down there, Blackthorne Boy?" she taunted. "I heard mud's really good for the skin." I rolled my eyes, a smirk appearing at the corners of my lips, just to annoy her.

"You know Gallagher Girl, you're pretty good at playing games," I complemented her, starting to get up. It was harder than it looked because the mud dripped off me and tried to pull me back down and the glue made my whole body sticky. "And you look beautiful, even covered in mud." I walked over the edge of the pit, my head level with her knees. She crouched down so we were face-to-face.

"You're not too shabby looking yourself," she said, her face getting dangerously close again. Then she kissed me. Right on my cheek, dangerously close to my mouth. A shiver ripped down my spine, intensifying the goose bumps. Then she was up and walking away again.

"Tease!" I called out to her. She turned back around and smiled.

"No, I was doing you a favor. Because that's all you're going to be getting from _me_ for a while. _Plus I have a boyfriend!_ " I groaned loudly and ran my hand through my sticky hair. And a thought I had never thought before crossed my mind. _Was I ever going to get this girl to fall for me?_

Cammie

"So what did you get?" I asked Zach, bumping his hip with mine as we walked out COW. Zach looked down at his test and smirked.

"Better than you." We walked into the crowded halls and down a flight of stairs.

"No way! There is no way on earth that you beat me," I said, trying to reach for his paper. But he raised it out of my grasp far above his head.

"I got a 98. You got a 97." A smirk danced across his lips and his green eyes shone with playfulness. It made me weak in the knees, which I wanted to slap myself for. _Zach is a friend. Zach is a friend. Zach is just a friend._

"That _so_ does not count!" I yelled, frustrated.

"Admit it, I am just _so_ much more smart and talented than you," he teased, hanging an arm loosely around my shoulder. I didn't move it off. Curse his good freaking looks and his sexy 5 o'clock shadow.

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically. "That's a funny joke."

"Oh come one Gallagher Girl, don't be a bad sport," he said, nudging me with his hip as we walked out onto the crowded lawn and towards and empty bench. I sat down and brought my legs up Indian style, turning to face him. His elbows were on his knees and his body was turned slightly towards me.

"COW is just _one_ subject. That doesn't mean you're better at _everything_. I bet I'm better than you at anything else," I replied, giving him my best annoyed look I could muster.

"_Anything_?" he asked. I rolled my eyes at his doubtful tone and nodded. Gallagher Girls could do anything they put they're mind to.

"I bet you're not as good of a kisser," he said, a smirk hiding in the corners of his mouth. My face heated up and quickly turned a bright shade of red.

"Well you're wrong on that," I countered. I really couldn't help but sneak a quick peek at his lips. It was only a little peek; maybe one or two seconds, but he caught me. My face grew impossibly redder.

"Am I?" he asked. I nodded, a quick jerk of the head.

"I don't know about that. I'm pretty talented."

I scoffed.

"Well, now I'm curious to see who the better kisser is," he said, leaning in just the tiniest bit.

"Too bad we'll never find out," I said, as I leaned back, putting my arms behind me for support.

"I wouldn't say never," he said, leaning back too. He gave up on trying to get me to kiss him. For now.

"Really now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Would you put money behind your words?"

"Yeah, I would." Surprisingly, his voice sounded soft and gentle. Not like the teasing tone I expected.

"Well how much are we willing to bet here?" I asked. The sun came out from behind a cloud, making me put my hand over my eyes so I could look at him without having to squint. Zach did the same.

"Not money. Money means nothing," he said.

"Fine. If you get me to kiss you _willingly_," I said, stressing the willingly part, "in seven days, then I will buy you dinner on the next town day. And don't forget, _I still_ _have a boyfriend,_" He smiled, not smirked, seeming contempt with that.

"So basically this bet is a win, win situation for me," he said, tilting his head back, letting the sun's rays reach out and touch his face.

I laughed. "Guess so."

"Well I will be looking forward to seeing you later, Gallagher Girl," he said, hopping off the bench and walking away. I'm sad to admit that I watched him all the way until he disappeared through the doors.

"Josh," I said, smiling into the phone as he picked up on the seventh ring.

"Cammie!" he said, sounding surprised to hear it was me on the other end. I flinched a little at his tone. I didn't know I'd come to the day when my boyfriend was surprised that I called him.

"I miss you," I said, a little nervous for his response. I hadn't talked to him much since the last town day. Suddenly, I realized that we had hardly talked and it made me nervous. He usually called every night but now he only called three or four times a week. And I hardly noticed.

"I missed you too, Cam. So much. Want to meet up sometime?" he asked. I smiled, happy and content with his reply.

"That's actually why I called. We have another town day coming up in two days. On Friday." I crossed my fingers, hoping he would be available. "Or we could just meet over the weekend." My voice sound a little too hopeful for my taste and I couldn't help but mentally yell at myself for it. Then I realized; when did just talking to Josh become such a struggle? When did our conversations start requiring so much thought to be put into them?

"Friday's good!" he replied. My fingers uncrossed and I silently thanked God. "But listen, I have to go. I miss you and can't wait to see you," he said, rushing the words.

"Alright, love you," I said, the words not as clear and strong as I would have liked.

"Love you too." I was about to hit the end button when I heard voice in the background of the phone.

"Who was that?" It was a girl's voice. A voice that sounded a little familiar, but I couldn't quite remember who.

"Oh, it was no one-" Josh started to respond but was cut off by the line going dead. _Since when was I no one to him?_

**Heyy guys! I'm proud of myself for getting this chapter out so quickly! Thankss for the good reviews, but it really disappointed me because there was only four. Four reviews guys, really? When I only get four reviews it really discourages me! Now I don't know if people like this story and if no one's enjoying it then I wouldn't want to keep posting the chapters. Don't be afraid to leave opinions and ideas! Pleaseeee review guys! You are all soo nice in the reviews thanks so much! But more reviews pleasse! Love you guys! Thanks.(:**

**-Me**


End file.
